It’s Sunday afternoon and I am sitting here diligently trying to write a project plan for work. I say diligently but the fact that I am writing this means I am probably not achieving too much success. Today is the first day of British summer time. I am quite frankly knackered mainly because when you get over 30 you need every extra minute of sleep you can get (well in my case anyway).
So currently I am perched on a metal chair in my garden – I can’t really be arsed to get the cushion out. As yes really I am in the garden– it’s really mild! I’m trying to get a head start on what’s about to be a very hectic work week for me. To inspire me, (because I need a bit of inspiration from time to time) I am listening to my itunes on shuffle. I have my headphones on so as not to pee off the neighbours with my random music choices. I like to shuffle the pod fairly regularly. I have a pretty wide ranging taste in music and so it really is anyone’s guess what will come up next. I particularly like to do this when I am on the way to or from work because it breaks the monotony of the daily commute and can actually make or break my mood by the time I get into the office (my poor colleagues do not know my iphone has this much influence over me). It also takes my mind off the fact that I am normally breathing in some rather unusual odours courtesy of some sweaty commuters arm pit at 8am.
Bizarrely on my shuffle today I got some of my favourite tunes ever – always a nice surprise when that happens. I am not a music snob, far from it. I just love music. When I lived in Manchester we used to go and see a lot of gigs because we lived so close to the venues. I can remember seeing the Brand New Heavies at Manchester Apollo when I was 18 and then the following week doing to see Take That at the Nynex (as it used to be called back in the day). Music has that funny, sometimes brilliant and sometimes hugely melancholy, knack of being able to take you back to a particular time and place. For me, it can even generate the exact same feeling I had at the time. For this reason my top 10 tunes are not exactly the most musically cool, in fact far from it. For me it’s all about that feeling they generate.
It got me to thinking. If my iPod was wiped apart from 10 songs what would they be? This is obviously a far more interesting train of thought that resource planning on a Sunday. So here are my top ten, in no particular order. I warn you know, if you suffer migraines as a result of cheese you may want to look away now...
1. Billy Jean – Michael Jackson. For me the Thriller album is an all time classic. I know he was shrouded in controversy before he died but honestly Michael Jackson made some brilliant brilliant music. Billy Jean reminds me of school discos but also some absolutely magic nights out as an adult. It reminds me of my girls because we all love a bit of Billy Jean.
2. Please don’t go – KWS. Ok my credibility went straight out of the window I know but there is a very good reason for this. This song was released the summer I took my GCSE’s. This was the summer before I started 6th form and the last summer before I started work. It reminds me of one of my oldest and best friends, and I know it reminds her of me and some very very funny immature times. Such cheese but brilliant (Baby D Let me be your fantasy and Atlantic Ocean, Waterfall also both fall into this camp). A really good memory song from the days when we used to sit in each other’s bedrooms listening to music and dissecting the action of our boyfriends or future beau’s. Oh hang on a minute, we still do that today, only in our living rooms or at a bar and rather than drinking Coke and eating Twirls (which were new then!) we drink wine and eat, well ok sometimes chocolate still. And we still laugh about how we were when we were 16. We were complete planks. Harmless but honestly complete planks with our jeans tucked into our socks thinking we were cool. We were bloody nutters.
3. Wonderwall – Oasis. I know Noel wrote it for Meg and now he will never play it but for me it’s my University, whenever I hear it. I am a big fan of the song and the album. I went to watch Oasis at Old Trafford Cricket Ground with my ex when I lived up north. The highlight of this experience (for him not me) was when I got hit on the head by someone who chucked a bottle of pee (luckily lid was on). Ex found this hysterical, I found it less so. Needless to say it’s an awesome song. I would be very disappointed if I went to see Oasis now if they didn’t play it. Sort of a soundtrack song for me.
4. With or Without you – U2. I am lucky enough to have seen U2 live a few times. They are utterly amazing. The first time I went was at Round hay Park in Leeds. It was August but it absolutely belted down. I was with the ex and another couple. We stood in the pouring rain in waterproofs for 3 hours getting drenched. On a normal day that may have pissed me off a teeny bit but that night it didn’t really seem to matter. I love this song. Really love it and live its very very beautiful. Makes me feel a bit squishy.
5. Holiday – Madonna. Like a Virgin was the first album I ever bought. That along with Wham Make it Big. I am not ashamed to admit I still like a bit of Wham and George M still resides on my iPod. Madonna was always cool when I was younger. She wore fingerless lace gloves and married movie stars. She wasn’t mega skinny like she is now and she made great pop tunes. The immaculate collection is an easy win album to put you in a great mood on most days in my opinion. I am less keen on the more recent stuff but back in the day she rocked and I enjoy a little listen now and then. I also love the film Desperately Seeking Susan, all that lace, leather and eye liner. It’s a girl thing.
6. Winner Takes it all - Abba. This song reminds me of my Mum. When we were kids my Mum used to play Abba, Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow on the record player a lot. And I used to sing along. I have to admit I was less keen on Barry M but Abba stuck and when it all became popular again; this allowed me to indulge my Abba pleasure more openly. Waterloo is actually my favourite Abba song but Winner Takes it all is a close second and reminds me of my Mum. A few years ago we went to New York together and we went to watch Mamma Mia on Broadway. Fantastic and totally my Mum. This year as I asked if she wanted to go and watch a show for Mothers Day and she said you know what I would really like to see again... Mamma Mia. She’s wicked my Mum.
7. Here comes the Sun – the Beatles. Along with Abba, Mum also used to play the Beatles a fair amount but she usually went for the earlier stuff, like the Hard Days Night album. I really discovered Here comes the Sun as a Student. This was around the time the blue and red albums were released and we all had them. It actually reminds me of leaving home and going to live (what felt like) a very long way away. It also reminds me of revising and writing essays on paper, by hand – imagine that! Email only really came out when I was at Uni so we spent a lot of times handwriting stuff or in the library typing up assignments because no one could afford their own laptops at that point. Whenever I hear Here Comes the Sun I can pretty much remember the smell of my room at Halls, too many hangovers and a lot, a lot of laughing. Bizarrely given that they were Scousers, it reminds me of Manchester too, my second home.
8. Mr Brightside – The Killers. Just brilliant. I love The Killers. It’s a song you need to play loudly, in your car, in the summer. If you don’t well shame on you J
9. I’m in the mood for Dancing – the Nolans. Yes really. This song reminds me of Wednesday nights at Discotheque Royale in Manchester. They used to have a night called ‘Love Train’. From the title you can probably guess it was a 70’s night. It was THE best night of the week, always rammed. Me and my bestie at Uni (also called Claire), used to go every week. We were a bit obsessed but it gave us a chance to indulge our 1970’s fashion and make up fantasies and let’s face it as children of the 70’s we both love a pair of platforms and some glittery eye shadow from time to time. Royales was the perfect venue for this kind of night because it had that whole 70’s vibe going on and everyone used to go wild for it and properly dress up. We’d be there in our velour flares, crop tops and platforms sporting silver nail varnish and fake eye lashes, drinking well normally actually Becks but still you didn’t honestly expect us to drink Babysham did you? The song was one of our faves, of course there are many others but this one a girly classic.
10. Rule the World – Take That. I first went to watch Take That when I was 17 with my friend Amy. I had just passed my driving test and I drove from Reading to Wembley arena. Frankly it’s a miracle that we got there at all given it was the first time I had driven any distance on a motorway let alone in London. Hanger Lane gyratory still gives me nightmares. We did get there and we saw the boys – all 5 of them then and boy did we scream. Everything Changes is the song that reminds me of turning 18 and leaving school. I will always be a Take that fan. I have seen them several times since then, again in Manchester as a 4, at Milton Keynes Bowl for the comeback (brilliant gig – horrendous night resulting in us paying £120 for a taxi from Euston Station home) and then at Wembley in 2009. Honestly it’s hard to pick a fave song of theirs for me as I like so many but when they played this to close at Wembley it made life easier in that respect. This song also reminds me of the birth of my gorgeous nephews, I must have been wearing out my Take That CD in the car at the time in preparation for the concert but it always seemed to be on when I drove back and forwards to see the boys in hospital. It’s a special tune for me. Gary Barlow you are a legend song writer in my eyes. Roll on 1st July Wembley baby J
Right so I have sufficiently managed to waste an hour telling you about my top 10 memory tunes. I actually was planning to tell you about my week. Guess I will have to do that another time but for now, I really must bloody plan this project and then do my ironing. Oh yes I am all about the rock and roll people, just you wait till you reach 34.
Happy listening folks x
(I am no longer in the garden BTW – it is still only March after all :S).
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